The Vine: Turkember 26, 2008
Hey Sarah,
Here’s a doozy for you.
I am the unofficial lead secretary in a smallish office — unofficial because I’m on the same level as the other secretaries, it’s just that I’m the only one who isn’t too chicken to speak to management.There are about a dozen secretaries on our hallway, all of whom are women except one.There are two single-stall women’s bathrooms on the hall and one single-stall men’s bathroom.
The dude is not the issue — he handles his what-have-you in the men’s bathroom without incident.
One of the women (Smelly Poo Sue) stinks up the bathroom on a regular basis; once, twice, sometimes even three times a day.It’s not a hygiene issue and she is a fantastic employee — she just has very smelly poo.Given the nature of the single-stall bathrooms, it has definitely known to all on the hallway that it is this particular woman who is the offender.
I really could not possibly give less of a damn about this.I mean, Jesus — it’s a bathroom and people aren’t baking cookies in there.It’s the other secretaries that are in a tizzy.
It started about two months ago with one of women coughing and gagging dramatically after entering the bathroom a few minutes after SPS and the other women cackling like it was the funniest thing ever.The gagger later sent me an email requesting a formal complaint be made about SPS.
I posted annoyingly cutesy signs inside all of the bathroom stalls reminding the staff to be considerate and use the deodorizing / disinfecting spray after every visit.I figured that would do the trick — I wasn’t targeting anyone in particular and yet it would get the message across.
But not so much.SPS did not take the hint and continued smelling up the joint.The secretaries became more and more melodramatic about entering the bathroom, shouting, “I can’t!I just can’t!” while stomping back to their desks in tears.So I called a meeting.Got everyone together to discuss other things and included a reiteration of the sign’s message — “Hey you guys, please use the spray.The end.”
Not wanting to allow things to get any more out of control than they already were, I spoke to my managers.He was embarrassed and flummoxed and suggested that I contact HR.I sent an email to our HR people (who are headquartered out of state) to give them a heads-up as well as seek their advice.
They have not had to deal with an issue like that before — hygiene-related issues are a lot more cut and dry because generally speaking there are policies in employee manuals stating that staff have to come to work clean and neat.SPS is both of these. Again, it’s just the poo.
I suppose I stumped them because they told me that they had no idea what to do and that in their opinion, I’d done all I could.They also made it a point to say that I should not pull SPS aside since it could be viewed as some brand of harassment, particularly if she has some sort of digestive disorder.
The other women then began purposely excluding SPS from lunch and other off-site activities.After I gave them a brief talking-to they begrudgingly let SPS back into the group.But the problem is far from resolved, since the bathroom entrance and exit dramatics continue.
My job is great aside from this weirdness.I don’t want to lose my job over demanding a courtesy flush or telling these other women to shut the fuck up and use the other damn bathroom already.I don’t know what to do aside from hand this back to the manager and HR to insist that they deal with it.Any other ideas?
Apparently I’m Also The Unofficial Poo Police
Dear Poolice,
You shouldn’t have to deal with this — because there shouldn’t be a “this” in the first damn place.As you pointed out, it’s a bathroom; if you want it to smell like cookies, install an oven, but otherwise, your co-workers need to get a life, and some manners, pronto.It’s just the smell of poo, and their histrionic, and rude, reaction to it has probably not gone unnoticed by SPS.
I can understand how you might feel obligated to address the situation, both in your unofficial role as lead secretary and because the whole thing is so childish and unnecessary that you want it stopped.But if these drama queens will make a tearful stink (no pun intended) over the smell, then exclude SPS from lunch, your pointing out to them that the drama-queenery is making them look like the assholes isn’t going to get you very far.And you really shouldn’t mention it to SPS, who, if she’s pooing three or more times a day, probably does have a medical condition, so it’s a subject best broached delicately, and by HR, not you.
Tell HR that you want it handled: you want SPS told to use the spray; and you want the Melodrama Club told in no uncertain terms to shut the fuck up about the smell, behave politely to SPS, and do their jobs instead of wasting your and HR’s time forcing you to mediate this.Then tell HR that you understand if that isn’t possible, but regardless, you recuse yourself from dealing with it; it’s not in your job description and you don’t want to hear about it anymore.If one of the other secretaries has a complaint, you will furnish her with an HR contact and tell her to use it; if SPS is still getting excluded from outings, you feel sorry for her, but you will not intercede.You have work to do, this isn’t it, and HR can do as they see fit, but you can’t help them.
Get permission to pass the buck, and to tell everyone on-site to tell HR and not you.
Hi Sars,
I have a cat question on which I’m hoping to get your input. My husband and I were seriously considering adopting a cat from our local humane society. However, yesterday we discovered that they make people adopting cats sign a contract saying that they will not have the cat declawed.
I was really surprised by this — I know that some private rescue groups require this kind of thing, but I wasn’t expecting it from the county humane society. The two cats we currently have are declawed, and since we can’t promise that we won’t have the new one declawed as well, we’ve given up on the cat we were considering. (And when I talk about declawing, I mean front declawing.)
I suppose the solution for us is to either find a very laid-back cat who mostly keeps his or her claws sheathed, to adopt a cat who’s already been declawed, or to adopt a cat from someplace that won’t require us to promise that we won’t have the cat declawed.
But, I’m wondering, what is your perspective on the declawing issue? Growing up, the cats my family had were always declawed, and, again, both of our current cats are declawed, and they seem to do just fine. I understand that we’re having the cat altered, and scratching, for cats, is a natural thing to do. This is not a furniture issue at all. Instead, it’s a personal, “I don’t want to end up scratched and bloody every time I interact with the cat” issue. For example, the cat we were considering at the humane society is very playful, which we liked, but I, my husband, and my sister all ended up with bloody scratches all over our hands (but it wasn’t malicious at all on the cat’s part — she was very sweet and purr-y).
On the other hand, I picked up another cat and was playing a bit with him, and I couldn’t even tell if he was already declawed or not (he’s not). I’m also somewhat concerned about bringing a cat with claws into a home with our declawed cats.
Thanks!
A.S.
Dear A.S.,
I am against declawing.It’s an invasive procedure; the solution is out of proportion to the problem it’s supposed to solve; and unless you plan to de-tooth your new cat also, well, you know, the average cat is kind of pointy.It’s a carnivore: it has sharp teeth and it pounces on shit.That’s how nature designed it.
The average baby is kind of grabby.Yanks on necklaces, yanks on boobs, yanks on all four shiny yummy-looking earrings in my left ear.You want me to cut the baby’s hand off because of that?Or should I wear shorter earrings with quick-release catches…or learn to intercept a little grabby hand…or maybe just tolerate the occasional yank, because it’s a baby and it’s not that big of a deal?
I don’t mean to suggest that you want to amputate baby hands, but honestly, a cat scratch now and then just isn’t that big of a deal, and you have so many alternatives to declawing, I just don’t think you can justify it by saying you don’t want any ouchies when you play with the cat.(And see above re: biting.)You can get those Soft Paws claw tips things to put over the cat’s claws; you can play with the cat using toys that have a handle or a long string so your hand isn’t endangered; you can adopt a cat who’s already declawed; you can trust your current cats to adapt (I see seven fights a day, and have for eight years, and maybe three of them got decided with the front paws — it’s all back-feet pedaling and neck-nipping).
Getting a cat fixed is one thing; it prevents overpopulation and the resulting starvation, as well as the more cosmetic annoyances like spraying.It’s for the cat’s benefit.Nothing about declawing benefits the cat, and if your declawed cat gets out, gets scared or in a fight, and tries to run up a tree?Neh eh.
I mean…it’s a scratch.The cat isn’t shooting at you.Yeah, it stings for ten minutes; you’ll get over it.Do not declaw; it’s selfish.
Hi Sars,
This is completely embarrassing and really, really TMI, but I really do need some help (well, recommendations, anyway). I suppose I could go to a gynecologist or a dermatologist, but I spend enough on medical bills already and I just can’t afford an additional consultation fee for something that’s…well, cosmetic. (But still important.) I read the Vine a lot and you and your readers are always awesome and helpful, so…here I am.
OK, here’s the deal. I’m Indian (from India, not Native American) and I have the body that goes with that — specifically, the body hair. I deal with it by waxing, except for one place — down there. It hasn’t been an issue, but now I want to do something about it.
I don’t want to wax my pubic hair off, nor do I want to shave. I’ve tried shaving and didn’t really like it, ditto with trimming. The problem is because the hair is so thick, it grows back really spiky and, well, prickly. What I really want to do is just trim regularly and keep it under control and hygienic, but in a way that doesn’t leave me itchy and uncomfy.
Any ideas about how I should go about this little grooming ritual? Or maybe your readers could help?
Thanks so much!
Sorry for the overshare
Dear Overshares Are Our Specialty,
Beard trimmer, my friend.Get the kind with the attachments that let you choose how long you’d like to leave the…”beard,” and then you can straighten up down there without fear of nicking yourself, itchy ingrowns, or any of that.It takes like two minutes, and you can make a mental note to address the topiary each month after you’re done your period (or more often, if you like).
You might like this Wahl model, but pretty much any of the ones at the drugstore will do the trick.
Tags: cats health and beauty workplace
I got nailed by a neighborhood cat in grade school, late seventies, and could not believe my pediatrican explained that the lump in my armpit was Cat Scratch Fever, for reals. I thought it was just the name of that Ted Nugent song. Mom was relieved, she thought I had mono.
Irreverence aside, Rebecca, I’m very sorry to hear of your ordeal.
I have to respectfully disagree with you Sarah. For one thing, MRSA is carried in the nasal passages of at least 1% of people in general. It’s NOT just a hospital thing. I’ve worked IN a medical center for the past 7 years and never had a problem until I got a deep cat-scratch wound. Could I have gotten another type of wound? Sure. Did I? No. If I were to contract MRSA again, it’s pretty much a 50/50 whether I would live or die. Possibly less as my immune system is less able to cope with anything at this point, much less an antibacteria resistant strain of staph.
The other thing…where I live, the “no kill” shelter, isn’t. They kill up to50% of their intake for various reasons. The last cat we adopted was 1 day from being euthanized. At this point in MY life, I can’t risk another cat scratch…or any other open wound. So…should I NOT rescue another kitty if they were due to be put to death just because I would possibly choose to declaw? Not that I WOULD declaw, but if it were ME and I was given the choice between losing 2 parts of my finger, or MY LIFE, I would give up my fingers and go on with my life. Best case scenario? No. But I would rather see cats rescued than see them dead because potential owners would opt to declaw. Just my 2 cents.
I’m with AHT.
If you SAW declawing, if you SAW the aftermath, you’d never want to have it done. After two years at a vet clinic, here are the declaw highlights (lowlights?):
The cat who panicked upon waking up, tore off his bandages and then tore open his toes and beat his paws against the bars until he had sprayed blood all over the kennel.
The kitten who sat on her hind legs, trying not to put weight on her newly mutilated front paws, and just STARED at me as I dealt with other animals. When I walked over to check on her, she very carefully put one bandaged paw through the bars, touched my hand and cried.
The older cat who just HAD to be declawed, he just HAD to, because they had REALLY NICE STUFF! And if they didn’t have him declawed, they would have to get rid of him! And so the vet declawed him, and he spent the rest of his life ripping his wounds open (looking for his claws, I imagine) and bleeding all over their REALLY NICE STUFF. I say “the rest of his life” because eventually, they had him put down. You know, because of the bloody mess.
The kitten who tore her bandages off too soon and sat in a pool of her own blood. When I took her out of the kennel to clean up and rebandage, she went after me with her hind claws. I don’t blame her a bit. I still have a nasty scar. You know. From a declawed cat.
Honestly, trim. The cats get used to it. And if you can’t trim or softpaw or adapt to the “Hey, everything I own has been gone over by a very small pointy animal” lifestyle, dude, don’t get a cat. Just don’t.
There are a million pets that I don’t have because I can’t adapt myself to their lifestyle, and vice versa.
Just had to chime in with my $0.02 on the declawing issue. When I was 5 my family got two kittens, and had them declawed. Being 5, I had no say in the issue, and no say when within a year we had to give away one of the kitties because she kept peeing on everything (she was fixed). Our remaining kitty lived to the ripe old age of 18, but when I grew up and adopted kitties of my own, I became convinced that the behavior issues that actually got Snowflake (yes, I was a 5-year-old naming a cat. The other was Flower.) kicked out of our house were probably because of the trauma from the declawing. So… yeah, declawing *might* allow otherwise unadoptable kitties to find forever homes, but it could also go the other way. Biting is only one of the behavior problems that could result. So just… don’t do something so horrible and permanently disfiguring to your kitties.
Now I have one clawed (Charlie) and one declawed (Ian) kitty. I adopted Ian first, which was good for placating the landlord, but we’ve since moved to a place that makes no requirements about the claws of cats (btw, Berber carpet is much more cat-damage-resistant than normal carpet, which might be something to consider if you’re hoping to get back your deposit). I was worried about getting a clawed cat after already having a declawed cat, but now they get along fine. It’s adorable when they start mutually licking each other. Invariably it turns into wrestling and biting, but I think it’s all in play. Silly kitties. But it’s the saddest thing to watch Ian try in vain to sharpen his nonexistent nails on the cat tree, or not being able to climb all the way up the tree. I am quite angry that his former owners evidently wanted to keep him inside enough to declaw him, but not enough to look for him when he turned up stray at the shelter… grr…
I mean this is the kindest way possible: some people shouldn’t have cats. One of my cats scratched the hell out of me last year. I got a nasty infection from the scratch, and ended up having to go to the doctor for treatment. Even after that, I still wouldn’t dream of declawing my cats. What happened was entirely my fault. I picked him up with no warning (he didn’t even know I was there. He was too busy eating the neighbors flowers), and scared him.
RE: hair removal. Here are a few tried and true ways to cut down on bumps, itching etc. from shaving and waxing
Cut back as much hair as possible before you wax or shave. If you’re waxing, leave enough so the wax has something to grab onto (1/4-1/2″) Less hair means faster removal and fewer chances for irritation.
Shave/wax in the direction of the hair growth.
Treat the area with non-alcohol toner immediately, and apply ice as soon as possible. Excess wax can be removed with oil of any kind.
If you’ve waxed or shaved the bikini line, go without underwear for at least a few hours, if possible.
After waxing, don’t expose the area to really hot water, sun or make-up (if you’ve done brows or upper lip) for several hours.
A.S., I don’t find your desire to avoid daily and thorough scratching at all unreasonable. I hope one of the recommendations for grooming / behavior / product alternatives to declawing will work for you!
Poolice: Honestly, you may want to reconsider the “unofficial lead secretary” role. I think you’re being pushed in front more than you’re leading on this. If a loser wants to reveal herself to be such to management by complaining that an excellent worker’s shit stinks, I say by all means let her show her idiocy, and no reason for you to intervene. Additionally, your managers are using your volunteerism as an excuse for not doing their job. If the secretarial pool is to be your personnel problem, your job description and pay should expand to include it.
Managerially speaking: Since SPS is using the bathroom appropriately, the people who are having a hard time with it are the people who need to find a way to adapt. The spraying of the air freshener is their responsibility. If they can’t rise to that responsibility or deal with their failure to do so professionally, they are employees in need of managerial counseling. While what you’d do will probably depend on what kind of relationship you have or would like to retain with the bad employees, I’d say your choices are: 1) tell the craphounds that you’ve attempted to negotiate, it hasn’t worked, you’re out, if they want further action they need to take it up with management themselves, and, if you’re still hoping to get ’em to shape up, that you think their responses are likelier to be a management concern than SPS pooing; 2) tell managers that the problem has become something else and that somebody with the authority–which isn’t you–needs to deal with the situation lest it become actionable; 3) bow out and let what happens happen. I suspect there’s too much reward in the anti-SPS group solidarity right now for it to break up with just a collegial warning, though; if I were managing them, I’d break up their lunch times and move them around physically to regroup things, which you can’t do.
Poolice: This is pure speculation, but if SPS’s smelly poo is the result of a medical condition, then said medical condition might also be making her sensitive to the deodorizing spray. Leaving matches in the bathroom may solve the problem, if so.
The real problem is the drama-lovin’ coworkers, but many others have addressed that issue much better than I could. :)
Poo: I have to say, I understand – this can be gruesome. We try to keep spray in the b-room, but that’s no guarantee everyone will use it. The only solution seems to be – if you don’t like the smell, use the spray. So that’s pretty much what we do.
RE: Declawed cats – When I adopted my first adult cat, I didn’t know until his previous owner handed him over that she had had him COMPLETELy declawed. I was not at all pleased, but what was done was done, and I loved this cat. When I adopted my second adult cat – who, BTW, came from the same person – she had been partially declawed (no front paw claws). Again, I wasn’t pleased, but it was done long before I adopted her. Fortunately, this person has not adopted any more pets.
When I decided to adopt a third cat, I made a point of seeking out a cat that had already been declawed by a previous owner. The reason is not because I support declawing, because I don’t. But rather, I was concerned about the safety of my two other cats. When I adopt, I can only adopt declawed cats now, for that reason. If you go to a shelter, or Craigslist, or anything like that, looking to adopt, you can look for postings that note that the animal has already been declawed.
Again, I don’t support declawing at all. But whether we like it or not, some cats have had it done to them by other people. And I have to consider the cats I already have (although I should also note that as I have 3, I’m done adopting!).
Thanks to all for your responses. I’ve lobbed the ball back to HR along with a request for one of those chemical warfare (hee) auto-air fresheners. We’ll see what happens, but I’m officially done intervening and have already told my first bitcher – in a very nice way – to tell someone who cares.
Poor SPS. She can’t help that her poo smells really bad. Or that she works with some weirdos.
And poor kitties who’ve been declawed. I saw a cat a the vet once who was being picked up after being declawed and they were in so much pain I wanted to cry. Either get a cat that’s already been through that hell or deal with the claws. It’s part of having a pet.
Re: cats with claws and renting: I actually used Xerox magic and falsified the copy of the adoption form I gave to a landlord to show that my now dearly departed cat was declawed, when she wasn’t. I then watched her like a hawk and provided lots of scratching post thingies. No problems.
This is obviously not a solution for every renter, but if you already have cats that behave themselves with floors and woodwork, it’s an option.
The current cats and current apartment? Well, there’s a doorframe I’ll have to putty and paint when I move, but oh well. That’s what I get for shutting her out of the bedroom, I guess.
Let me add my voice to the chorus of “adopt a pre-declawed cat” people. I have adopted two young adult (3 or so) cats who were declawed by previous owners. They have both been sweet and fantastic. My current one, Charlie, is a wee bit bitey, but has never actually hurt anyone or broken skin – he gives “warning nips” where another cat might give a warning swat. Also, with an older cat you can know a bit more about their behaviour patterns.
@Overshare: re softening up the hair, use a massage oil before you use the beard trimmer. You can get some really nice-smelling ones at the Body Shop or Bath and Body Works — even Vaseline makes “Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil” which you can probably get an any drugstore. Rub it into the skin and wait a few minutes — I usually use this time to wipe all the oil off my hands so I don’t lose any grip on the trimmer (yikes) — then apply a little again when you’re done. I had razor rash like crazy until I started doing this; now there’s no problem. It also has a side benefit: in terms of intimacy, not only is the hair under control, but the skin is soft and smells really really good, which can increase the attention you get there. Major plus!
On the declawing issue: I don’t have any personal experience with this method, but tenectomy sounds like a possibility. There’s a discussion on it here: http://tinyurl.com/lucam. The cost may be prohibitive, and to some, it may still not be acceptable, but I thought I’d mention it.
Our last kitty made quick work of the Softpaws. They were all gone (swallowed?) within a day! They’re a wonderful option, but unfortunately, some cats just won’t tolerate them.
I am late to this, but on the subject of declawing, I have to share a story:
We got Eureka in 1988. The idea of not declawing was not ever considered, it was just What Was Done to pet cats. Eureka didn’t turn into a biter or a neurotic carpet urinator or a freak. He was lovely and gentle and an indoor/outdoor cat who would bring home entire rabbits (he weighed about 8 pounds). He was half Persian and enormously fluffy and probably the best cat I’ve ever known. He did, however, have a habit of nibbling his toes, like maybe he was cleaning them very thoroughly.
Around 1995 or so, we noticed that one foot had a sore on it, and it wouldn’t go away. We took him to the vet and found out that it was his claw. Growing back out through the flesh of his toe. After 7 years. Because someone didn’t quite cut off all the nail follicle (or whatever it is that produces claws) when they did the declaw, back during the Reagan administration. So as a result, he had to have the ENTIRE TOE amputated.
The idea of accidentally causing 7 years of constant pain is enough that declawing will never, ever cross my mind, even when the current cat (not fluffy, indoor only, kind of crazy) sinks his claws into my toes at 3 in the morning.
Laura, thanks for mentioning that experience. I’m going to keep a close eye on my cats’ paws, just to be safe. Two of them had only their front claws removed, but as I mentioned in my post, one has been completely declawed. He just had a vet visit due to health issues (that, thank goodness, turned out to be minor) so no problems at this time… but I would hate to think of my babies going through that. Thanks for the heads-up!
Coming in late on the issue of declawing, my mum had cats around since I was 4, I learned boudaries with animals that way, thankfully suffered no negative consequences (I’m almost certainly exposed to, and from what I’ve been told therefore immune to, toxoplasmosis) and the whole experience – the love, the fun, the grief when they leave us – has made me a better, kinder, and wiser person that I may otherwise have been.
Cats rock – I agree that when it’s life or death for the kitty, we may have to hoss-trade a little on what kind of mutilation is acceptable, but the very idea of declawing is utterly alien to us in the UK, and we’re not all keeling over or being refused tenancies over it.
Sounds like foot-binding to me – women had to put up with that for centuries in China, and really, for no better reasons.
One thing about declawed cats that hasn’t been mentioned.
Cats, unlike most mammals, naturally walk on their toes. When you declaw a cat, you force it to spend the rest of its life walking in a way that is unnatural for it and much more likely to cause it to have arthritis or other joint issues as older kitties.
My daddy adopted two kitties at 10 weeks and chose not to declaw them. They grew up to be small but healthy and very sweet – and the way my brother plays with them, he should by all rights be ripped to shreds. He usually only ends up even with mild scratches less than once a month.
When those cats were three years old or so, a declawed cat wearing one of those belled collars wandered into our yard. He’d been on his own long enough to have lost a third of his healthy body weight (he went from 10 pounds to 14 pounds once we adopted him without getting remotely fat). While he’ll never be best buddies with the old clawed girls, he’s accepted – and is the one who’s hurt me far worse than both the girls combined.
Now I have my own cat, having moved out, and he’s a pre-declawed guy because of landlord restrictions. He is also exceeding clumsy. He can hold his own fighting with my parents’ cats though.
To Poolice:
The chem-warfare sprays can be really ick, make sure you’ve got a company that will work with you on the kind used.
If Sue’s got a medical problem, the others COULD be in some deep, you should pardon the expression, doo doo with the harassment. As a person with carcinoid cancer (neuroendocrine cancer that often expresses itself gastrointestinally) were I still able to work and was to be subjected to ridicule over my disability, there WOULD be hell to pay for the perpetrators.
Also, if your company doesn’t provide decent medical insurance, then HR needs to assist Sue with the expense of a good gastro check up, as there are some things that can assist with the excessive stinkitude of some poos (pancreatic enzymes, prescription medications, but also helpful with other issues).
Good vent fans or an ‘odor-eater’ machine would also help.
There are a lot of anecdotal stories about kitties here, but the most compelling argument against declawing, for me, is – you can’t PREDICT the outcome. For all those kittens plaintively suffering in pools of their own blood, we see stories too of those cats who appear to be fine with declawed tootsies. For all those who become biters, we hear about declawed kids who become Mighty Hunters.
It is not possible to know what any given cat will go through – or achieve – because of, in spite of, or completely regardless of this procedure. But there is no arguing this: it CAN potentially be painful, and it CAN potentially cause problems both physically and mentally for an animal which could last their lifetime. Given that this possibility is neither remote nor unforseeable, and given that the negative consequences (for both the cat and his or her FAMILY, remember) *are* largely unforseeable – how is it possible to justify multiple digital amputations?
The horror stories here are wrenching and compelling. So is the difficulty on the side of people like Rebecca Terwyn, who are hardly speaking in defense of intentional cruelty to animals.
But more compelling than any of these things is that, in the name of guaranteeing some hoped-for outcome, a procedure is performed which carries no actual guarantees, and many risks. The math alone speaks against declawing (or ten(don)ectomies, for that matter; which have little study to consider long term consequences, it appears). It’s nowhere NEAR compelling enough to make such an expense and risk sensible.
Wow! Lots of comments!
@Anne: That’s exactly what my husband’s cat does! He bites more since he’s declawed.
I’ve used Soft Paws, and they work! However, I got too lazy to keep them on, but if you want a really great scratching post that all cats, declawed or not, will use with regularity, try http://www.purrfectpost.com! It’s a little pricey, but sooo worth it! My cat will scratch that and nothing else (and so will our declawed cat).
Plus, if anyone is trying to train a cat to take his nail clippings somewhat peacefully, I just lie on my back on the couch, with the cat sitting on my belly and gently raise one paw at a time. Maybe I have the most patient cat in the world, but he sits there patiently (mostly, sometimes he meows to complain or pulls away) and lets me clip them.
If I had met my husband earlier, I would have stopped him from declawing his cat, but Declawed and Non-Declawed get along just fine and have slap-fights with no claws involved.
@Kay: When I used Soft Paws, my kitty was young, and I did it while he was sleepy on the floor. I made sure I approached him quietly and with as little in my hands as possible. His sleepiness made him more relaxed so I could get them on.
@AS – When I adopted my first cat (as a kitten), I was afraid of her claws. I had never been around cats with claws, and I was worried that she’d rip me to shreds. I wanted to declaw her, but the SPCA was kind enough to show me how to clip her claws. After a few sessions where I was bitten, Kitty and I got in the rhythm of clipping her front claws (treats help), and four years later, it’s her teeth that do the damage. Clipping a cat’s claws is a great way to keep them (the claws, not the cat) from scratching you. There’s no need to declaw. I have two cats now, and both have claws, and really? Any damage is from bites or back claws as they scramble to find “higher ground.”
@Poolice – Poor Sue, and poor you. You should not have to be enforcing common courtesy, and those other secretaries sound like a bunch of twits. I agree with Sars – insist that HR handle it, because it is their job. I mean, it sucks to have a digestive disorder, and it also sucks to walk into a smellarific bathroom. Sue doesn’t sound like the brightest bulb, so maybe she’s never even thought that she has a digestive disorder, and HR could frame it as, “your colleagues are concerned that you may be ill, and you should see your doctor.” And if she doesn’t, and continues to leave an olfactory souvenir when she uses the ladies’, the other secretaries need to grow up, take deep breaths outside, and spritz some of the air freshener or light a match. If that’s their biggest complaint, then they have it pretty good.
A bit OT, but I am not the first Lib that posted on Nov. 27. I did post the longer comment today. I guess it would help if I read all the comments prior to posting, heh.
That’s a really good point, Diane…there is absolutely no way to predict the outcome of what cats will do. I’ve had my cat Clio since she was a kitten, and even then she never scratched me with her front paws. She would bat and swipe at me when she was playing or pissed off, but the claws didn’t come out. I would have been a little worried, if I didn’t see her sharpening her claws on her post or unsheathing them to grab at toys. She can be a snot to the other cats, but she’ll always be my little sweetheart because she’s so good about not intentionally scratching me (I have received the occasional “launching pad” scratches from her back feet).
You take a risk with any pet you get, but like me, you might get lucky! And if not, there are always SoftClaws. :)
AS — You probably already know this, but once you have a cat who’s declawed, the future cats really must be declawed as well. Even the most laid-back and good natured cat might not get along with your resident cats. And if that’s the case, it can’t have claws where the others don’t. That might seem a little dramatic, but it’s just the truth. Cats fight sometimes.
I have a cat who is declawed – and have no real issue with declawing an indoor-only cat. Indoor cats use their claws for only one thing, and that’s playing. It’s nothing like cutting off hands or fingers on a human, because we use our hands and fingers a lot, but a domesticated cat doesn’t use its claws. And the sugery is less invasive/painful than spaying a female.
@AS. Damn, am I glad my cats have their claws. One dummy cat got out one night (escaped) and wouldn’t come in til real late. I didn’t see until morning that he was all torn up, had 2 holes in him, lost half his whiskers and his claws were worn to nubs. Vet said he’d probably gotten into it w/ a possum or raccoon. I’m not vigilent about trimming claws and I felt less like a lazy owner after that. I know he used his claws that night and which is maybe why he got away w/ only a bunch of stitches. Furry little jerk. Cost me $850 before the check up, stitch removal, and blood work. But he lived.
Tell you wHat.
I’ll have to respectfully disagree with Nikki above – my cat is in indoor only cat, and he uses his claws as fingers quite often. Anytime he wants to pick something up, or open a door, he curls his paw (right usually because he is right pawed), extends his claws, and uses them to grab what he needs.
Now, I may not like that he picks up my keys to throw them on the floor using this method…
I’m not a cat owner (or a big cat fan, really), but this declawing thing is deeply odd to me. Surely, if you choose to have a pet, you have to accept that your house may not look as good as it did in your pre-pet days, but that having a furry little friend about the place outweighs the scratched furniture or whatever?
I would dearly love it if my house wasn’t covered in black hair that seems to reappear five minutes after we finish vacuuming, but when we got a dog we knew that hair was something that came along with the package. I’m not going to shave my dog bald to save my sofa – my dog is worth more to me than a million sofas! Perhaps some people should just not have pets? The idea of mutilating your pet because it might damage the furniture is difficult to grasp, to put it mildly.
I’m a bit late to the party, but since a lot of the “don’t declaw” advice includes “do trim” can someone PLEASE give me some helpful hints? Before my current cat, I’d never owned a cat before, so maybe I’m a little incompetent about it, but I have the darndest time getting her nails trimmed. She’s lovely, doesn’t use them on me or the furniture, just her scratching pad, but she likes to knead me and so they need to be trimmed about every 3 or 4 weeks I think. Usually I try and pet her and snuggle until she’s so relaxed she doesn’t care, but that’ll only last through one paw tops. And it takes a good hour to get her to that place. I just am not very good at getting the nail out, and she’s really good at yanking her paw away from me and I get frustrated and give up. So any lifelong cat owners have any advice?
@Heather -from way up at the beginning – regarding moving in with your boyfriend – when my husband and I got married, he had two outdoor/indoor cats, and I had one cat who had never been allowed outside. We just continued to let his cats out but not mine. My cat was never really the kind who bolted for the door every time it was opened, so it worked fine. (For the record, they all have their claws)
Has anyone here tried “Pedi Paws?” It’s a rotating emery board that basically sands down the claw to however dull you want it to be. I’ve seen it on TV, but haven’t tried one yet. Seems like a good idea.
I’ve used the dog version of “Pedi Paws”, which is essentially a dremel with a coarse grit drum. My dog, who, admittedly, is very good with nail trimming in general, goes “Eh”, and lets me dremel with no problems. It does take a bit longer than the standard snip, and I can’t see my cat going for the sound, so I use traditional nail clippers for him.
For the price of the declawing procedure, you can probably have the cat taken to the vet every two months and have them do a professional nail trim with a mild sedative. This is not the best solution (you have to drive to the vet, costs money, the cat may be sedated for no ‘good’ reason) but I tell you what, they can get those suckers clipped WAY shorter that way than I could ever do with my little nail scissors at home (without fear of hurting the cat anyway).
So there’s an option. I have my cats’ claws trimmed super short whenever they go to the vet for anything significant, since they’re already there, and then I just trim with my wee little clippers at home the rest of the time. They’ve been taught to scratch only things meant for scratching (posts, a cardboard scratchy thing) and it’s never been a problem.
@Chrissi – have you tried getting the cat relaxed, putting her in position on her back, covering her with a blanket, and letting one paw out at a time?
I trained my cats to put up with it that way. Eventually they learned it wasn’t worth fighting. (They also learned they get delicious stinky treats after a clipping. I don’t know HOW they learned that…)
Poolice, while the coworkers are definitely immature jerks, and while it does sound to me like SPS has some medical issues, I also think this entire situation could have been avoided or short-circuited if SPS had had a little more consideration for the others in the office from the beginning. Obviously she has no desire to make things easier for them now that they’ve been so cruel to her, and I can understand that. But she must have known that it smells; she must have known there are easy steps she could take to minimize the impact on others (such as the courtesy flush, or using the spray that’s provided). Those steps are not onerous, and I fail to understand why anyone wouldn’t want to keep the lowest profile possible when pooping at work.
Everyone poops, yes. But the fact that everyone does it doesn’t make it less stinky, and some people are more sensitive than others to “foreign” smells. There’s no reason not to take a few extra seconds to lessen the impact on others–that’s just basic manners. The bathroom in my office got so bad–and I’m talking people leaving things IN the toilets, outside the toilets, running down the sides of the toilets so the building maintenance people had to come in during the middle of a workday–that we ended up getting an email from our office manager asking us to please, keep it neat in there. Seriously–RUNNING DOWN THE SIDES. A) If you were so sick that you couldn’t make it over the bowl, I feel bad for you and you should go home, but B) WHY WOULDN’T YOU TRY TO CLEAN IT UP A BIT YOURSELF??!?
If I’m caught short at work, I do my damndest to make sure I don’t leave any lingering smells or ::shudder:: evidence behind.
Everyone poops, but everyone should take care of their own sh*t, too, and I mean that literally and figuratively. That’s something I’ve gleaned from years of reading Tomato Nation: Take care of your own sh*t, because it’s one of the only things you really CAN take care of.
So yes, the coworkers are immature jerks who could definitely be in for some harrassment charges if circumstances align. But SPS could have been more considerate from the start.
That said, there’s a product called Just A Drop that can be purchased at drugstores. Put it in the bowl before use, and it’s supposed to create a barrier at the surface of the water to prevent any smells from wafting out. Maybe HR can convince the company to invest in a case and keep it stationed in the bathroom–although it doesn’t seem like SPS can be arsed (heh) to actually do anything about it.
My own office-bathroom hang-ups are clearly coloring my perspective here, and I fully acknowledge that. Just, gross. And no. Take a few extra seconds to take care of business, and you won’t have an office full of overgrown Mean Girls reliving junior high at your expense.
Speaking of dremels, there is a smaller manicure kit available for women to do their own nails. It comes with a variety of interchangeable heads, and is quite useful – I’ve used mine as a teeny tiny sander for delicate pieces of furniture which had gotten damaged. It doesn’t make all that much noise, and since it has heads that range from coarse to fine, do the trick for sanding down the claws. Heh. Sandy Claws!
That said, I’m going to pitch a freaking BITCH now: the librarian at our office, a lovely woman, told me about the cat she and her daughter are fostering, hoping to adopt out. Their across-the-street-neighbors, having neutered and DECLAWED their cat, boot it outside at all times, and have been seen shutting the door in its face when it raced to come inside. Librarian and daughter have been feeding Stray as Stray got thinner and seedier-looking, and finally the daughter asked if they could keep Stray, pending vet’s approval. Well, they can’t. Stray now has full-blown FeLV, and can’t stay with Librarian and daughter’s other cats. On the other hand, Stray didn’t have to be put to sleep, so they’re feeding him, giving him antibiotics, and keeping him in a separate room, pending adopting him out to someone else willing to take him. I haven’t the heart to tell them yet that they might as well keep him at this point – I suspect their cats have already been exposed – but, the hell? What’s wrong with these people who put a DECLAWED CAT outside?
RE: Poolice. Okay, so it is a couple of months too late, but I am just reading this now and really, oh … the humanity. First off, yeah: everyone is dead-on about the fact that if she has digestive issues, the activities of the other employees are contributing to a hostile work environment, and, as someone with GI problems, if this WERE happening to me, I’d be pretty quick to act on it.
And then there’s the whole, you know, non-legal, being a nice human being angle: if one of the mean girls (or someone they love) ends up with something which requires her to have an ostomy for a time, or otherwise renders her waste less lovely, how would this behaviour make them feel? What if it were their kid? Dealing with digestive issues and the inconvenience they cause is enough of a challenge to a normal life without being constanly made to feel like you’re inconveniencing every one else.
As to the comments by P.S. that Sue could have avoided the problem by being a little more considerate, and by others that maybe she’s just clueless, there is also the possiblity that she uses the standard air fresheners provided, and they do not take care of the problem. I can’t know for sure, but there is a better-than-good chance that Sue is very aware of the issue and had taken all the steps she can to address it. Everyone who has chimed in so far has been speaking from a “well, surely it can’t be that bad – I crap all the time and it’s fine with just regular air freshener, and did I mention that I’m in perfect health?” perspective (with the exception of Dee Dee, and best wishes to you) and let me assure you, from my broader experience, that, yes, sometimes even the spray doesn’t work, and that yes, we are very aware of it, and take all the measures we can to avoid (up to and including waiting until we get home to use the bathroom, in some cases, where possible), so, really? Taking her aside and telling her her co-workers are concerned? Likely to just make her uncomfortable about an issue she is well aware of …
Seriously, people, it’s poo, get over it.